Zanity is a keep of black stone, seven stories, straddling the Copper River, which spills out in a small waterfall along the keep’s southern edge. There are attached stables. Glassteel windows show the river flowing underneath and offer views of the surrounding hills, including the small plateau. Its only visible entrance (west side) leads to the small ruins of Copperton.

The first floor is a massive common room, with a huge, circular fire pit in the middle, surrounded by the square glassteel windows on the floor. The bar runs along the west wall. Stairs lead to the 2nd floor starting at the northwest corner. The southern wall offers a stunning view outside through the glassteel windows (indistinguishable from stone from the outside) overlooking the small valley below and the waterfall. In the middle of the northern wall is a stout steel door, with a one-way glassteel window that can see the common room. Another identical door is in the northeast corner north wall, leading to the very sizable kitchen, beyond that the pantry, built back into a cliff face, underneath those the cellar, and from there access to the mines. Another door to the common room is next to the entrance door (itself southeast corner), and it leads to the narrow corridor rife with murder holes overlooking the plateau.

Damn Nature, You Scary

A deus ex machina, underground, aqueous transmission shat out of my ass this morning… Not exactly the Friday the 13th closest to Halloween adventure I was planning, but it will have to do, given Mac’s absence.

I want to give a blanket xp bonus on the whole run b/c of the exhaustion situation. I’m thinking + 25%, but that’s being uncertain just how fucked the group will get by it by the end. Anywhere b/w + 25% to + 100% …

Everyone gets perception DC 20 to spot the scary purple eyed black monstrosity far away, through the trees, up on a hill, seemingly looking down on the lot of travelers.

Far to the southwest, Mt. Drovius suddenly explodes/erupts. It sets off a series of earthquakes in the region. The quakes cause a series of sinkholes to collapse right under the feet of the travelers going north to Copperton, who are at the moment taking a short rest in a little valley, at that moment some 300 yards east of the Copper R. Many of the travelers fall into the earth and are promptly swept away along an underground river.

Baashi and Alosa luckily narrowly avoid falling into the earth. Tronus, Lace, Zalyre, Charek, Lados all topple in. In two separate areas of collapse: Lhané and Tabaxi fall in one spot (and initially plop into the same underground river the aforementioned lot do), Turin and Ata fall underground at a spot further to the south, also into the same underwater river complex, but a separate tunnel that leads them totally astray from the others.

Everyone who falls must make a luck save.

DC: 1 — critical fall, suffers a crit from the crit chart with 3d6 base damage.
DC: 2-5 — bad fall, suffers 2d6 damage, luck save again, anything 10 or under suffers a significant ongoing injury of some kind.
DC: 6-12 — 1d6 damage
DC: 13-20 — no damage.
DC: 21+ — once plopped in the river, gets tangled up with the remains of an adventurer (something like a small sack tied to a length of rope). Sack will have some loot in it, but must make another luck save DC: 10 or higher to not suffer disadvantage on ensuing athletics checks for swimming.

The river at first is chugging along pretty mightily, eastward. An owlbear is angrily screeching and flailing about the water as well, just ahead of the PCs/NPCs. Perception check right when they fall in at DC: 15 (pretty dark in there, just the sunlight streaming in behind and above them from the collapse).

After a few minutes flailing about in the river, which quickly becomes a lightless affair, a couple of tunnel offshoots splits the flow, and the river dies down quite a bit. Some luminescent moss makes the tunnel glow with dim light shortly after the river starts to spill down deeper into the earth.

Athletics saves must be made. DC 15 or above is handling everything like a boss. DC 10 or above requires a luck save @ DC 10 or suffer 1d4 damage from not being able to avoid rocky outcroppings in the river. DC 5 or above requires luck save @ DC 15 or above or take 1d4 damage. DC 1 luck saves produce something awful, TBD.

In short order, the river is no longer strong enough to be sweeping everyone away, and the pic below is the scene:

On the rocky “shore” shown in the picture: a furious, smelly, soaking wet owlbear, aforementioned, is ready to rip something fleshy apart in revenge for the indignity he just suffered, just as the group is spilling down the river-turned stream some 50 feet away. The owlbear has already suffered 4 damage from the initial fall into the river. It charges up the stream immediately in a rage.

56 HP (52)
AC: 13
Speed: 40
Beak: + 7, d10 + 5
Claws: + 7, 2d8 + 5

After the owlbear fight, another exhaustion check (DC: 11).

The river forks, two separate tunnels, both traversable.

Left tunnel (southeast) (DC 15 to hear scraping sounds from this way, from the quaggoth).

Quaggoth x1 (extra one if they beat it down hard, and up to another one after that) (no light sources) — Underground River 8

The Quaqqoth will toss rocks ’til engaged, preferring not to wade into the water to fight. He snarls, is loud as hell, and will possibly attract an additional one or two quaggoths, depending on how beat down the group is.

To the right of the pic, not shown, is a network of tunnels and fairly large caves, basically the lair of the quaggoth(s). There are bones, mostly animal, lots of bats in one particularly large chamber, and a couple of the caves sport colonies of massive, brown mushrooms (edible). No light source throughout.

Another exhaustion check in order after exploring the little tunnel network.

There are a couple of little tunnels leading away from the quaggoth lair network, but too small for anything but a tiny halfling or child to get into.

Right tunnel (south)

Gelatinous Cube — Underground River 3

There is a cube hiding behind that pillar. MM pg. 242. DC 15 perception check to see it (first person), whom it attacks immediately (if not noticed, it gets adv. on first attack roll)

Water weird — Underground River 2

The tree is very magical. Entering the radius of its leaves/branches produces a great calm. Staying there for more than 5 minutes will force a wisdom save, DC: 10 (and every 15 min. increment after that). Saving means the close presence of the tree forces past trauma to be considered, while feeling like a divine presence is sympathetic and loving. “Your past makes you, you. You are loved, special, beautiful. All is well. Do not worry. Do not fear.”

1+ hours in the tree’s presence yields an inspiration point.

5+ hours in the tree’s presence will yield: plot point (if a luck save DC 10 is made), full replenishment of spell slots, +1 wisdom (lasting 1 day, and an additional day for each 5 hours spent there, capping at 5). Bonus wisdom fates at a rate of 1 point per 5 hours spent away from the tree.

Sleeping under the tree will allow a commune to happen via dreams. Non religious people will get one at random (d30 pantheon) or DM’s call, player’s choice. DM’s call default will be Quellaxu. This could be a big deal conveying this planet’s fate is chained to that damn ship.

Keep in mind setting up shop for any length of time will likely bring the myconids in to investigate, see below.

Myconids x23 (glow worm cave ceiling)

spores to dream share — convey they are peaceful and will help heal and allow rest. They have two spore servant quaggoths. Their spores that produce the shared dream experience will leave them with a + 2 to wisdom for the next 8 hours.

Their cave is a mere 500 yards or so down a large tunnel from the magical tree. The progression is still roughly going deeper, and south.

Depending on the time spent resting, consider exhaustion saves.

Several miles of an underground cave network leads to:

The corridor went sharply north, with the river diverting underground a different way.

They hear the sound of battle.

Grun’Chang expedition of 13 (3 dead) are battling a Fomorian Giant. The leader is a dark druidess. If the PCs help them down the giant, they will be rewarded. They are trying to find the magic tree, to sap it. There are 2 tunnels leading out of this cavern, west one spins out in a network a bit, but goes nowhere that non tiny beings can further explore, the other is a way that meanders deeper and south, the way that the Grun’Chang came from.

Exhaustion check.

After that, it’s miles of caverns, and once again the river basically dominates the cave progression. Some caves open up large, and some have small waterfalls spilling into them. The underground river, while lazily flowing, becomes rather large.

Exhaustion check.

Underground River 5

Basilisk. It’s likely the basilisk close to the next cavern, below, will hear the scuffle and enter the fray in 1d4+3 rounds.

Underground River 6

Basilisk.

and then there is this:

Owlbear x1 (wounded) — Underground River

Quaggoth x1 (extra one if they beat it down hard) (no light sources) — Underground

Of the 9 females, one is Lace and one is a tiefling with a face just wrecked with burn scars (I believe I stated she had a face that was garbage, but had a body that could totally haul it; her com is a terrible 6 explained away by the horrible scarring). Of those 9, said tiefling was the only one not used sexually (Charek and Lados would have deduced that over time).

There are in total 14 non-human males of the ex-slaves. Some of them are linked above. There are also two half-elves, two half-orcs, a thadan from Seth-ra, two tieflings (both adolescents).

Both Charek and Lados know that Kalas Typharus was kept under tighter security than the rest of the slaves. He was bound right the fuck up with chains binding him fairly severely at all times when he wasn’t set to working, and when he was working, he had a special guard detail strictly shadowing him and him alone. Additionally, Charek and Lados, from their time working on the barracks, would be well aware how affable Lassenryl and “Tree” are. They are also quite familiar with Sorok, who was, despite his slavery, one of the two foremen of the barracks job, and Sorok has a huge charisma.

Note to GM self: Sean left some men behind to more fully scour the battlefield for goodies once the sun came up. Some of what these men bring back Sean will keep, but he’ll dump into Tabaxi’s lap the rest: 982 flight arrows, one short bow, a dozen light crossbows, a dozen bolt cases, 196 quarrels, four large tents, ten small tents, seventy spears, twenty pikes, a dozen long swords, a dozen short swords, fifty-two shields, 17 chain shirts, 21 studded leather armor, two score leather armor, eight lanterns, a crate of lamp oil (50), three score torches, five flint and steel, sixty soldier packs (bedroll on each). Six mules, three covered wagons loaded with non-perishable food (about 600 days rations all said). None of the gear is pristine, and a lot of it is bloodstained. Each soldier pack contains 20 days of rations.

Lados’ father Aklaine Kaumakas gave him a gorgeous .44 six-shooter, way ahead of its time, with pearl inlay handle and 300 rounds. I’m sure he intends one day to find that weapon, seized from him when he was enslaved by Xoll.

Charek grows ever more impatient hoping his mother gets word of his plight, assuming her family connections might get him out of the frying pan.

Celestra, Selendorr, the Jaqmoori, and basically the global order of the druids have declared war on Xoll. Elves the world over hate Xoll at this point.

Three Age of Magic airspheres drop 300 wood elves (one a PC, Tabaxi) and a litany of overpowered individuals (mostly druids) while Steen’s forces are camping at night.

Session start: 2 A.M. 03/15/905. Group luck save: 3 (before mods). On the board: A large tent (inside, Dryn and Lace). Dryn’s covered wagon. Dryn’s covered slave wagon (containing PC and the two others, Vellus and Tronus). A campfire circled by 5 soldiers, all human. A blue dragonborn with a great axe patrols close. Vash Steen’s part of the long encamped column is just to the south of Dryn’s. Dryn’s 2 donkeys are tethered nearby.

Dryn’s campsite was the point of the column. The night is overcast, windy, cold (about 40 degrees with a nasty wind chill).

Meanwhile, to the north, past the Xoll sentries and the wood elves silently getting in place for ambush, Allison’s bard is out on an all-night tear of wining and flirting with Connor. Half drunk, the two are having a very dangerous horse race down the trail they are both intimately familiar with, when they ride smack into 5 blue dragonborn wearing the imperial purple dragon tunic of Xoll’s legions.

... just a little road trip...

One fiendish empire, 6 countries, 21 towns/cities, oh my.

Whatever happened to Gainras?

BLOODHAVEN

Bloodhaven

Severe storm delays travel plans ’til after noon. Come 1:00 or so, as they are approaching the eastern side of Bloodhaven, they come across a pugilist match in a side alley, with a big crowd assembled. Arota Serpentfist is one of the two fighters on a small stage next to a tavern. Suddenly a roc swoops into the city and talons a horse to death and severely injures its orc soldier rider (round 1, hovering). Next round (orc rider on 19 initiative, roc on 12) orc rider leaps off horse onto the ground, roc flies away.

Roc: 283 hp, AC 15, 120’ fly sp.

Update: Rhavaniel’s fumble luck save changed all this… :( I swear I don’t go out of my way to kill PC horses. I swear…

Under the distraction of the roc attack, Soy picks Ellarie’s pocket (21 DC) unless she is not conveniently situated (being the richer-seeming of the 2 women). Arota notices (24). Hyper Nationalist Arota is prejudiced against Soy in particular (no love lost toward the late, foreign Master Wu and his drug imports), aware that Soy was employed by Wu for some time, and she despises thieves in general. Arota will definitely call Soy out, and Soy will beg for his life best as able. If PCs manage to spare Soy his hand being hacked off, he will do his best to hench out to them (whoever most pulled to save him gets first option to run him).

((yeah, that was the plan. Obviously those involved are all too aware of how things actually played out…

Fuck the book, collect the shit.

Small community that caters to providing services to traders coming to and from Xoll. Most of Xoll’s land trade to the north and east passes through Dragon’s Crossing, typically just called the Crossing.

It has one inn, Twilight’s Revenge, placed on the corner of the intersection of the Imperial Road, diverging north to Strongal, and Jangle Way, pushing east to Lathesia. The inn has a massive firepit in the middle of the common room, and no bar, no stage. One of the walls is floor to ceiling with old kegs.